New app locates stolen iPhones

Orbicule has introduced Undercover, an app it hopes will help locate a lost or stolen iPhone or iPod touch.

Billed as a "theft-recovery" device, it tracks the phone or iPod using built-in GPS when outside, while indoors Undercover tracks location based on Wi-Fi networks and cell towers.

Users can then login to their account via www.retrievemyiphone.com to view their phone's location, although getting it back may prove more challenging.

When Undercover is launched on a stolen device, it pretends to be a game. That encourages the thief to wait for the loading 'game' while enabling Undercover to gather the most accurate location possible. This location is then immediately added to the user's account.

Unfortunately Apple does not allow background processes or push notifications yet so Undercover has to be manually activated. This is something Orbicule intends to address with the forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 update. A full FAQ what Undercover can and can't do is available online here.

Available from the Apple iTunes App Store Undercover costs 2.99 and requires the iPhone 2.2 Software Update.

In January, Orbicule announced Undercover 3, a major new release of its theft-recovery software for Mac OS X.

Check out our new Macworld Mobile site.

Follow Macworld UK on twitter: www.twitter.com/macworlduk

ProjectWizards releases Merlin 1.0 for iPhone, iPod touch
Diane DeGarmo Stalker Denied Down Under
(E! Online)
MacProVideo to release iPhone video training app